Muscles ache, bruise, tear and cramp even with preventive maintenance of sports and remedial massage. During the rehabilitation process, discomfort can be reduced and healing accelerated by massage. Chronic as well as acute injuries can be effectively managed by the following sports and remedial massage soft tissue techniques.

Sports and remedial massage is used to treat injuries, chronic pain and restricted range of motion, reduce fatigue, swelling and tension from heavily worked muscles as well as accelerate recovery from strenuous activity. These may be the result of sports activities such as running, cycling, hiking, swimming, dancing, tennis, strength training and aerobics or the daily activities of mothers looking after small children, gardening and any strenuous use of the body during work. Massage is also used to treat the body in situations where its physical limits have been stretched as in pregnancy, labour or surgery.

Sports and remedial massage can help reduce fatigue, alleviate swelling, reduce tension from heavily worked muscles, promote flexibility, prevent injuries and prepare an athlete for optimal performance.

The gentle therapy of healing with finger pressure, shiatsu relies on the simple but powerful experience of touch to maintain a smooth flow of energy around the body. This affects the entire body and mind and leads to improved...

From a shiatsu massage perspective, endometriosis is mostly the result of two patterns of imbalance, liver energy stagnation and kidney yang deficiency, occurring together. The following signs and symptoms - irritability, ...

Some massage practitioners refuse to give massage during the first trimester as this is when most miscarriages occur. This is merely because they do not want to be associated with this event should it happen. However, there is no evidence that massage can lead to a miscarriage and massage is not contraindicated during the first trimester. 

The great physical, mental and emotional changes of pregnancy affect your lifestyle, your job and your relationships with friends and family. Pregnancy massage helps you integrate these changes successfully. Massage during pregnancy offers undeniable physical benefits.

Although their manifestations appear in the reproductive organs, gynaecological disorders are closely related to the whole constitution, particularly the emotions. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, great importance is placed on considering all aspects of a person in diagnosis and treatment. TCM emphasizes the role emotions play in gynaecological health and pathology, stating that emotional disturbances are a major disease cause in gynaecology.

Premenstrual syndrome is a western view of a common gynaecological problem. Syndrome means it is a group of signs and symptoms which typically occur together but for which there is no satisfactory explanation or known cause. However, TCM not only recognizes this group of symptoms as a particular pattern of energy imbalance called liver energy stagnation, but also defines an aetiology for it, namely emotional stress as well as a treatment based on meridian theory.

Moral relativism is widely taught at universities across the world. The message is that there is no such thing as right and wrong, good and bad. Every view is as good as another. You can make up your reality and do as you please. This is misleading as the distinction is not made between resolving the practical conflicts of life and metaphysical problems over what type of existence morals have. 

When, through meditation, the mind calms down with the complete suppression of rational thought, surprisingly, we do not find a blank, stupefying vacancy but an unimaginably brilliant awareness. This is coupled with a sublime happiness and a pleasure so intense that, at first, it seems impossible to bear.

Working long hours at the computer can result in stress, muscle tension, injury or pain which can drain you physically, mentally or emotionally. This can impact negatively on your social life as well as on your work. As the most important benefit of massage is the reduction of stress, general health can be improved and maintained by massage and and the negative effects of stress can be alleviated or prevented. 

Meditation is not another extra activity to be occasionally practised when you have the time for it. Nor is it a specialized activity that can only be performed by the few and under unusual circumstances. It is essential for your wellbeing and can be done by everybody throughout the day.

Be seated in meditation posture. Imagine a rose coloured lotus bud on a silver disc is at your heart. Allow the bud to open and visualize it radiating golden light which forms a sphere containing you at its centre. Kindly and gently repeat, “May I be happy. May I be free from suffering. May I have the causes of happiness. May I be free from the causes of suffering.” until you fell loved and appreciated.

Just as the dawn is the forerunner and first indication of the rising of the sun, so is right view the forerunner and first indication of wholesome states.

Desire leads to suffering and not to pleasure. Desiring pleasure is a malformed idea as pleasure can only arise from good actions and not desire. Pleasure can never be grasped but opportunities for pleasure are always flowing through your life as the result of past good actions. This good energy is squandered when forcibly turned to the gratification of your ego’s desires. Desire is inherently painful as it is the mind state of poverty

Greed, hatred and delusion are defilements as they are dirty. Dirt accumulates whenever there is inadequate maintenance and housekeeping. Someone who is under the control of desire or anger is neglecting to maintain their self-respect and their respect of others. This neglect causes moral dirt to collect and the build-up of moral dirt leads to decay and disease. Morality is your spiritual immune system. 

Right intention follows naturally from right view. Right view is essential as the wrong view obviously leads to the wrong intentions, actions and results. Due to right view you can avoid the unnecessary mistakes of wrong views and get the right results. It gives you confidence as you know how to act correctly and the intention to do this naturally arises. Thus it is important to do something about changing your views whenever they are wrong. 

Speech is very important as it creates friends or enemies, makes or breaks families. It is extremely powerful. As speech is always preceded by an intention to speak, right view and right intention govern the way you will speak. Also, as intention motivates speech, speech has substantial consequences. It can create harmony or distrust. It can be used dishonestly to manipulate others or help them immensely by passing on the deep meaning of the truth. Speech is based on thoughts. If you have trained your mind, your speech will be gentle and